OSU, Miami announce commencement speakers

By: Encarnita Pyle

The Columbus Dispatch - February 24, 2012 11:02 AM

It's that time of year again when Ohio colleges and universities start announcing their commencement speakers.

International relations scholar Richard Herrmann will give Ohio State University's winter address. About 2,100 students will receive degrees at the ceremony, which begins at 2 p.m. on March 18 at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.

At Miami University, prolific composer, musician and two-time Academy Award-winner A.R. Rahman of "Slumdog Millionaire" fame will be the commencement speaker at the school's spring ceremony on May 5.

A member of Ohio State’s political science faculty since 1981, Herrmann specializes in security and conflict studies, political psychology, and politics in the Middle East and Russia. He directed the university’s Mershon Center for International Security Studies from 2002 to 2011, and in July 2011 was named chairman of the Political Sciences department.

Herrmann has written extensively on international relations, U.S–Russian relations during the Cold War, the politics of the Middle East, and U.S. relations with Iran. He has also traveled frequently to the Middle East, lecturing and conducting research in Israel and the West Bank, as well as in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, he served on Secretary of State James Baker’s staff at the U.S. Department of State from 1989 to 91.

A native of Cleveland, Herrmann earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Miami University in 1974, and his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981.

Rahman is a star at Miami and beyond. His musical compositions in the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" earned him two Oscars, two Grammy awards, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA award and a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award.

He recently collaborated with Mick Jagger to perform on the album “SuperHeavy.” Described by Time magazine as the “Mozart of Madras” and as possibly the most prolific recording artist in the world, Rahman was named in 2009 as one of the "100 Most Influential People" in the world by the magazine.